Photos by Tom Perkins
McClure’s orders cucumbers by the truckload direct from farmers who grow crops specifically for the company. Each week, Joe McClure buys 12 boxes, or “totes,” that each hold 2,000 pounds of cucumbers. Yes, that’s a whole lot of cucumbers. Credit: Tom Perkins
The cucumbers’ journey begins with a hoist on the forklift. Credit: Tom Perkins
Cucumbers are pulled out of the box and placed onto the conveyor belt. Credit: Tom Perkins
Then hit the showers. Credit: Tom Perkins
They receive a thorough rinsing. Credit: Tom Perkins
And a good scrubbin’ from spinning brushes that rapidly spin the cucumbers. Credit: Tom Perkins
After a short trip down a conveyor, an employee collects the cucumbers in tubs. Credit: Tom Perkins
He then drops them in the slicing machine, a roughly 20-foot piece of equipment that sucks cucumbers out of the troth with spinning belts. The produce shoots through a slicer, a long tube, and …. Credit: Tom Perkins
…. into a tub sitting around 30 feet away. Credit: Tom Perkins
At the same time, an employee loads jars into a corral where the glass is automatically pulled into the production line. McClure’s brought in a consultant who works in auto plants to help improve the pickle line’s flow and efficiency. Credit: Tom Perkins
The jars are subjected to an air blast to remove any stray debris. Credit: Tom Perkins
Joe McClure’s mom, Jennifer McClure, stuffs garlic into each jar near pickle packing line’s outset. Credit: Tom Perkins
An employee slips a dill sprig into each jar. Credit: Tom Perkins
The crew stuffs the passing jars with cucumbers. McClure’s pickle packers are fast-fingered, filling around 120 jars per hour. Credit: Tom Perkins
Simultaneously, 300 gallons of brine is heated in a vat to kill off anything potentially harmful. Credit: Tom Perkins
Then pumped into 16 jars at a time using a gaggle of brine tubes. Credit: Tom Perkins
Three sets of 16 jars can be filled in a minute. Credit: Tom Perkins
The capping machine’s vertical conveyor pulls lids above the jars. Credit: Tom Perkins
Then drops them down and stamps them on. The machine can cap up to 1,500 jars per hour. Credit: Tom Perkins
Joe McClure doesn’t hang in the office all day – he gets brine-y with the rest of the crew. Credit: Tom Perkins
Jars are corralled into a pasteurizer and sprayed with 180 degree water to kill anything harmful. That also leaves jars shelf stable so they don’t have to be refrigerated prior to opening. Credit: Tom Perkins
The jars are pulled out of the pasteurizer and rinsed. Credit: Tom Perkins
Then carted over to a label machine that applies the McClure’s label on each 16-ounce jar. Credit: Tom Perkins
A freshly labeled jar. Credit: Tom Perkins
Around 30 jars roll down the labeling line each minute. Credit: Tom Perkins
The jars are then packaged in cases. Credit: Tom Perkins
Pallets of bloody Mary mix awaiting shipment sit next to 275-gallon totes of Woeber’s vinegar. McClure’s buys 20-percent acidity vinegar, then dilutes it at the factory to save on costs. In a week, they’ll burn through four vinegar totes. Credit: Tom Perkins
And the cases are stacked for shipment to all 50 states, the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. McClure says his next distribution project is to land the label on shelves in Mexico and Singapore. Credit: Tom Perkins
Inside the pickle factory. Credit: Tom Perkins
McClure’s Pickles. (Courtesy photo) Credit: Tom Perkins

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